Open AccessGlutathione-Triggered Formation of a Fmoc-Protected Short Peptide-Based Supramolecular Hydrogel
Author(s) -
Yang Shi,
Jingyu Wang,
Huaimin Wang,
Yanhui Hu,
Xuemei Chen,
Zhimou Yang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0106968
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , peptide , glutathione , supramolecular chemistry , fetal bovine serum , chemistry , cell culture , biophysics , transmission electron microscopy , confocal microscopy , fluorescence microscope , biocompatible material , glutathione disulfide , cell , biochemistry , fluorescence , nanotechnology , materials science , polymer chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry , biomedical engineering , enzyme , biology , medicine , genetics , physics , quantum mechanics , crystal structure
A biocompatible method of glutathione (GSH) catalyzed disulfide bond reduction was used to form Fmoc-short peptide-based supramolecular hydrogels. The hydrogels could form in both buffer solution and cell culture medium containing 10% of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) within minutes. The hydrogel was characterized by rheology, transmission electron microscopy, and fluorescence emission spectra. Their potential in three dimensional (3D) cell culture was evaluated and the results indicated that the gel with a low concentration of the peptide (0.1 wt%) was suitable for 3D cell culture of 3T3 cells. This study provides an alternative candidate of supramolecular hydrogel for 3D cell culture and cell delivery.